Fitzpatrick Referrals was founded in 2005 by Professor Noel Fitzpatrick, whose vision was to create an environment where it would be truly possible to marry compassionate care with excellence in veterinary medicine.

The Centre in Eashing is located against a beautiful backdrop in rural Surrey and specialises in the treatment of Orthopaedic and Neurological conditions in small companion animals, it also boasts a state of the art Rehabilitation Centre within the same building.

We passionately believe that every single animal entrusted into our care should be treated as if it was our own. We promise never to advise treatment just because it is possible, but only when it is right for your animal friend at that moment in time.

Launched on 2nd September 2015, the new state of the art Fitzpatrick Referrals animal hospital based in Guildford is the first of its kind in Europe and aims to change the way cancer is treated in companion animals.

Whilst this building will impress and contain the latest equipment, it is the team of people inside that makes it truly outstanding.

We have brought together world class medical and surgical oncologists with extensive experience in advanced radiation procedures, and the best nursing teams in order to gain a better understanding of animal cancer and to use that knowledge to deliver the very best treatment to animals.

We aim to deliver all of the options to all of the animals all of the time, and we aim to work with our human colleagues to better inform the treatment of cancer for everyone.

With Fitzpatrick Referrals Orthopaedics and Neurology, we will also be the only centre in Europe offering custom-designed 3D-printed limb and joint salvage prostheses.

Refer a Patient

Fitzpatrick Referrals Oncology Service focuses on offering advice, options and therapy to families who want to know what exists in modern cancer care for animals.
This is a centre where the vision of improving the quality of animals’ lives and ending cancer in pets drives all we do.

Soft tissue surgery refers to any type of surgery for treatment of diseases which are not orthopaedic or neurologic. As such, it includes surgery of most organs, the stomach, intestines, liver, kidneys, bladder, lungs, heart, as well as surgery of other soft parts of the body, including skin, muscle, fat and so on.

Our specialists have extensive training in Interventional Radiology and the team offer unrivalled excellence in this field for you and your pet. Our specialists are experts in delivering leading edge techniques to treat animals with conditions that were previously considered untreatable.

Urinary Cancer

Cancer of the urinary tract can affect the kidneys, ureters, bladder, urethra and prostate. The majority of urinary cancer cases present with lower urinary tract signs such as increased frequency of urination, unproductive straining and bloody urine. Tumours of the lower urinary tract are often poorly responsive to intravenouschemotherapy so other options have been developed.

Intra-arterial chemotherapy

Intra-arterial chemotherapy involves delivering the chemotherapy drug directly to the blood supply of the tumour. This results in an increased concentration of the chemotherapy directly within the cancer, which may result in an increased effectiveness of the drugs.

This video is a dog with a bladder tumour and highlights us mapping the blood supply to the bladder, prostate and local lymph nodes in order to deliver the chemotherapy directly the tumour rather than through the intravenous route. Early work has shown this allows significantly higher doses of the chemotherapy to reach the cancer.

Urethral stenting

The most common cancer of the lower urinary tract is a transitional cell carcinoma, which typically occurs around the bladder neck (trigone). This can commonly result in urinary tract signs including straining and blood tinged urine. As the tumour progresses it can lead to a complete obstruction whereby the patient is unable to pass urine – this is a life-threatening emergency. Using fluoroscopy we are able to place a small stent across the tumour and relieve the obstruction.

A radiograph showing placement of a urethral stent for a dog with a stricture due to a previous stone.

Ureteral stenting

A stent is a small tube which can be passed from the kidney to the bladder around an obstruction such as a stone or cancer. Stents can be placed via cystoscopy (camera passed into the bladder) in female dogs and male dogs more than 8kg in weight. Stents are the preferred option for ureteral obstruction in dogs.

A radiograph showing placement of a ureteral stent from the kidney to the bladder.

Subcutaneous Ureteral Bypass (SUB)

A SUB device can be used to divert urine around cancers which are blocking the urinary tract. These are placed under fluoroscopy (video X-ray) and are very well tolerated with a low complication rate.